Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Florida's Corporate Welfare Charters Want Ads on School Buses

Charter-school accountability bills that passed the Florida Senate unanimously now face a number of House amendments, including one by Rep. Bryan Nelson, R-Apopka, to allow advertising on school buses.

The add-ons may be enough to sink any opportunity for the two legislative bodies to come together on making the publicly funded schools face similar regulations as traditional schools, said an aide to Sen. Don Gaetz, R-Niceville. The senator has championed the reforms for the last two sessions following an Orlando Sentinel investigation into Florida’s 350-plus charter schools.

As approved in the Senate, the bill would prohibit nepotism and increase financial reporting among the schools, which are privately operated, often by management companies.

Nelson recently commented on the legislation, saying he was working with other representatives to strengthen the bill and “ensure that we have the strong safeguards necessary to ensure accountability of our charter schools."